


j's 1k celebration

by ironxprince



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Bucky Barnes Feels, Bucky Barnes Needs a Hug, Bullying, Gen, Harley Keener Needs a Hug, Hurt Peter Parker, Non-Consensual Drug Use, Parent Tony Stark, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Post-Civil War (Marvel), Sickfic, Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, Tony Stark Has A Heart
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-26
Updated: 2020-04-26
Packaged: 2021-03-02 00:13:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 5,001
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23855911
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ironxprince/pseuds/ironxprince
Summary: Five 1k fics make specially for five special followers, including the topics of hurt & comfort, field trips, jealousy, bullying, and forgiveness. Enjoy!
Relationships: Harley Keener & Peter Parker & Tony Stark, Harley Keener & Tony Stark, James "Bucky" Barnes & Tony Stark, Peter Parker & Morgan Stark (Marvel Cinematic Universe), Peter Parker & Tony Stark
Comments: 21
Kudos: 99





	1. Hurt & Comfort

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For @romeoandjulietyouwish <3

The summer breeze was stuffy as Tony brought the car off the road and into a gas station parking lot. Peter had been craving an Oh Henry bar for a large part of their road trip, and Tony couldn’t bear to deal with his hangry rambles anymore. So, giving Peter a light smack on the shoulder for interrupting their trip (and receiving a smile in return that said,  _ you love me _ ) Tony left the car and entered the convenience store.

Peter reclined back in his seat and closed his eyes, rolling down the windows to air out the vehicle… and also, to clear out the weird smell that suddenly assaulted him. He plugged in his headphones as he waited. He was listening to this new band Ned had told him about, something having to do with dragons….

Dragons. That was a funny word.  _ Drag-ons _ ….

Dragons were cool. Dragons were  _ very  _ cool, actually, and this music was cool, too. Pretty music, music he could sink into, and he did, sliding back into a seat….

A hand grabbed his arm.

Peter’s head lolled to the side as he drifted in the direction of said hand. The hand tugged harder, and Peter groaned as he followed it. Someone must’ve opened his door. Vaguely, he wondered who, but his music was so pretty, he paid the thought no mind.

Peter’s feet hit ground, but he stumbled, eyes still closed… music still playing… pretty music… nice words….

“ _ Peter! _ ” Peter’s eyes squeezed tighter shut at the noise, the noise that was shouting to him from across the parking lot. It was loud. Peter didn’t  _ want  _ loud. He was perfectly content with the pretty music….

Suddenly, his music stopped.

Someone took away his music.

Peter peeled his eyes open, slightly frustrated, and saw his phone on the ground. They took away his music! That wasn’t very nice.

“ _ No, wait- Peter! Look at me, bud- _ ” The noise was reaching him through water. Peter didn’t think much of it as he lethargically lifted his head. It took his eyes a moment to focus, but he saw the man, shouting at him from across the parking lot. It was… it was Mr. Stark. Hi, Mr. Stark! Mr. Stark looked worried. Don’t look worried, Mr. Stark-

Peter’s legs buckled. Hands around his shoulders caught him. Peter laughed quietly at the funny feeling in his stomach as he fell. Thank you for catching me, stranger!

Mr. Stark was shouting something. Peter didn’t want to listen, or maybe he just couldn’t hear. Huh.

Mr. Stark got smaller, farther and farther away. Peter’s arm was being pulled backward, and he stumbled to follow it. Maybe it hurt, but he chose instead to look at what Mr. Stark was holding in his hand. Something small and yellow. A banana? No, it looked smaller than that. Maybe a wrapper.

Peter couldn’t focus on what it was. He was being twirled around before he could find out.

He saw a face, the face of the stranger. Hello, stranger!

The stranger was holding something in his hand, something silver. A gun. He pointed it at Peter.

Not very nice, stranger.

Suddenly, Peter was being thrown to the ground. The world spun as his head hit the pavement, and he wondered who had pushed him.

Peter was confused. He wanted Mr. Stark.

He wondered where Mr. Stark was. Why did Mr. Stark leave him?

Suddenly, there was a shadow, someone standing above Peter. Oh, hi, Mr. Stark!

Mr. Stark offered Peter a hand. Peter took it, slowly moving to his feet. He took a breath of fresh air, and clouds began to disappear from around him. Were those clouds always there?

Peter blinked a few times. His vision focused as he stood, legs becoming more stable. Peter looked up at Tony, investigating his face now that he could see it clearly. Tony’s eyes were wide and… and  _ very  _ close to Peter’s. Well, hello, Tony.

Tony held a hand to Peter’s cheek, lifting his head slightly. Peter groaned.

“Head hurts.”

Tony clicked his tongue. “You got drugged, kiddo. That creep had you inhale something… must’ve sent it through the open car window.”

Peter blinked a few times as Tony looked closely at him, waiting for a response. Peter laughed.

“Hello, Mr. Stark!”

“Yeah, we’ve gotta fix that.” Tony shifted Peter’s weight onto him and gently brought the two of them to the ground. He brought Peter to lean against the car as he retracted his hand and pulled something from his pocket-

_ The banana! _

Wait, no. A candy bar. Oh… Henry? Hello, Henry!

Tony unwrapped the bar and handed it to him. Peter took a careful bite, chewing slowly. Tony watched him expectantly.

“Better?”

Peter dropped his head back against the car, blinking up at the moving clouds. An uncomfortable feeling settled in his stomach as the clouds over his own head evaporated, and he winced.

“Yeah,” Tony said, sighing with relief. “Pain’s gonna hurt now that you can feel it again.”

Peter groaned. “What happened?” His words were sluggish, his tongue feeling heavy in his mouth. Tony moved to sit shoulder-to-shoulder with him.

“Delinquent probably wanted to get you to some kind of secondary location while you were drugged, but I knocked him out, and now you’re better-”

Peter laughed, turning to look at Tony. “Nah, nah, nah, sister!” said, voice an octave too high. “You’re not getting me to no secondary location!”

Tony sighed, staring back at Peter and shaking his head. “On second thought, maybe those drugs are still in you.”

Peter giggled as Tony put his arm around his shoulder and began to lift them gently from the ground. “Street smarts!” Peter shouted as Tony guided them back to the car. He helped Peter into the passenger seat.

“Mhmm. Maybe you’ll have more street smarts next time.” He sighed down at Peter, who rolled his head to the side to grin up at him.  _ You love me _ .

Tony couldn’t help but smile back.  _ Yeah, I do _ .


	2. Field Trip

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For @siriusly-mybud <3

Peter should’ve expected the field trip to Avengers tower. His classes had visited every year since the third grade - and really, they had a tourist attraction in their own neighbourhood. Of course schools would visit.

Maybe he hadn’t been paying attention the last time he visited, or maybe now he was just better informed, but Peter didn’t remember the tour guides of past being so… factually incorrect.

The guide, Ted, led the class through a hallway that was lined with memorabilia. He stopped in front of a wall covered in documents.

“... And here you can see all the paperwork that went into constructing the Manhattan Orphanage, the largest orphanage in New York! Funded by the Avengers and run by Bruce Banner himself-”

“Natasha Romanoff.”

Peter looked up from where he was inspecting his shoe laces when he felt the eyes of his class on him.

“Excuse me?” Ted asked, narrowing his eyes slightly.

“Well, Nat built it, not Bruce. Bruce helped, of course, but it wouldn’t be fair to give him all the credit when Nat’s signature was on the original copies of these forms, before it was blacked out for security reasons.”

Ted plastered on a fake smile. “That’s an interesting thought. However, the orphanage  _ was  _ Mr. Banner’s idea. Though, I’m sure Ms. Romanoff helped.”

Peter exhaled a long breath as they moved to the next item, the Captain America shield behind glass. His friends all rushed to take a closer look, and Ted stood back, smiling.

“This one’s always a favourite. Captain America’s shield. He used it to fight in the Second World War, and from there, in the Battles of New York, Washington, Sokovia, Lagos, Wakanda, and many more! After his retirement, he handed the shield to his best friend since childhood, Bucky Barnes-”

“Sam Wilson.” Peter met Ted’s eyes, no longer choosing to be compliant about it. This guy was  _ wrong _ .

“I’m sorry, Sir,” Ted said with a tense smile. “If you continue to interrupt the learning of your classmates, I’m going to have to send you back to the lobby to wait with your teacher-”

“Actually, he’s right.”

Peter turned sharply, recognizing that voice - and, lo and behold, Bucky Barnes was walking toward the group, hands in the pockets of his zip-up hoodie. He smiled as he approached, looking carefree, and came to a stop beside Peter.

“I heard there was a group today. I wanted to come say hi.” He nudged Peter’s shoulder. “Didn’t expect you to be here, Peter.”

Peter blushed amidst the gasps of his classmates.

“Anyway,” Bucky continued, moving to the front of the group. Peter’s classmates parted to let him through, their eyes constantly flitting between where Bucky was standing beside the shield, and Peter, who was blushing profusely, and biting down on his lip to keep from groaning. “Yeah, this is  _ not  _ my shield. Do I look like I’m wearing stars and stripes to you?”

That earned a giggle from a few of Peter’s classmates.

“And, Wilson would never use this shield. You see how inefficient this is? No coverage for the legs. No, Sam built his  _ own  _ shield. I actually don’t know why we keep this old thing around.”

Ted shuffled his notecards nervously, looking for something to save him from this situation. “I’m so sorry, Sir, I hadn’t realized-”

Bucky held up a hand, halting the unnecessary apology, but before he could say anything further, there was the sound of dress shoes on the tiled floor. The group fell silent in reverence, knowing who the footsteps belonged to. Peter squeezed his eyes shut, refusing to turn around. This day could not possibly get any worse.

“Now, why did I just receive an alert that a bunch of tweets about the Avengers were recently posted, geotagged to this hallway?”

Despite the fact that his two worlds were now colliding in the most horrible way, Peter couldn’t help but smile at Tony’s dramatic entrance.

“Who here is  _ spideysnumber1fan? _ ”

The smile was wiped off Peter’s face.

Giggles from Peter’s classmates erupted from all around him as Peter fought to keep the blush off his cheeks. He caught Bucky stifling a laugh over their heads as the group parted, leaving a path to the mortified-looking Flash, who turned guiltily, his phone held up to take a photo of the shield.

Tony stepped forward slowly, just within Peter’s eyesight. The group fell silent, nervous, and Flash looked up at Tony with wide eyes.

“Get some good shots?”

Flash looked nervously down at his phone. “Y-yes, Sir.”

Tony nodded once, smiling. “Good.” Then, he turned to Ted. Flash followed Tony with his eyes, mortified, and confused. “Why would I want to censor photos of articles that have been seen out in public on multiple occasions? I don’t mind. You, however….” Ted turned pale, and shrunk back into himself under Tony’s gaze. “Where did you get your information?”

“R-research, Sir,” Ted squeaked. Tony nodded thoughtfully and held out a hand for Ted’s notes. He passed them over, hand trembling.

Tony flipped through them, shaking his head. “A lot of these are incorrect.”

Ted’s face grew ghostly pale. “I-I’m so sorry, Sir, I’ll fix it, I will. I promise.” His voice grew quieter, and Tony peered up at him. “... Are you going to fire me?”

Tony laughed, and the entire group jumped out of their skin as a collective.

“Of course I’m not going to fire you. People make mistakes. It  _ happens _ . I will, however, assign you a partner, someone higher up, to fact check. I don’t believe there’ve been any intergalac threats recently… maybe Thor will be free to help.”

At this point, Peter thought Ted might actually faint.

Tony just shrugged, turning to Peter and winking at him before strutting out of the hallway, calling a, “Stay in school, kids,” over his shoulder. Bucky followed, patting Peter lightly on the shoulder as he passed. Peter looked after them, mouth hanging open.

This was going to be an exhausting bus ride back to school.


	3. Jealousy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For @shadedrose01 <3

All Harley wanted, for five years, was the chance to see Tony again. He had finally gotten it, in the form of an invitation to New York - so why did he feel so empty now?

Tony greeted him with a smile and a light punch to the arm, which was how they interacted. It was how they were  _ comfortable  _ interacting. And then, Tony introduced Harley to Peter, ruffling the boy’s hair and putting an arm around his shoulders and smiling at him like Tony had  _ never  _ looked at Harley.

An uncomfortable feeling settled into the pit of Harley’s stomach.

He wasn’t  _ jealous _ , he couldn’t possibly be. Tony engaged him in a lengthy discussion about what he’s been doing, asking him follow up questions, and it was great.

It was fine that Tony and Peter were sitting on the couch, leaving Harley to seclude himself to the armchair. It was fine that Tony’s arm was constantly over the back of the couch, playing absentmindedly with Peter’s hair as they conversed. It was fine that Tony opted to turn on a movie, and asked for Peter’s opinion.

Harley wasn’t jealous.

As the  _ Finding Nemo _ opening credits played, Harley stood to get a drink of water.

He leaned against the counter and peered out the window over the sink, taking slow sips as he watched the street below.

Maybe it was a mistake to come. Sure, Tony had invited him, but he probably just felt guilt at leaving Harley all those years ago. Harley wasn’t actually  _ welcome _ here - he was just pitied.

Harley set the glass down on the counter and turned to leave, planning to sneak out without alerting Tony, and almost jumped out of his skin when he saw the man himself leaning against the door frame.

Tony eyed him suspiciously, and Harley swallowed thickly. He  _ hated  _ that look. It meant Tony was reading him, and Tony could read people  _ very  _ easily. He’d have a full analysis ready in a few moments, if Harley let him - so, Harley averted his gaze. He didn’t want to give anything away.

He wasn’t jealous.

“Alright, kid, out with it,” Tony said,  _ Finding Nemo _ ’s gentle soundtrack playing quietly in the next room. “What’s got you bothered? Your mind has been occupied all night. You were never this quiet back in Tennessee.”

Harley forced a smile to his features - he had gotten good at faking it - but Tony raised a brow. He wasn’t fooled.

“Nothing.” Harley smiled. “I’m great. You can go back to the movie, and Peter. I’ll be fine-”

“So  _ that’s  _ what this is about.”

Harley frowned. “What?”

“Oh, Harls, you’re  _ jealous _ .”

The pit in Harley’s stomach grew heavier.

“Uh- no. Why would I be jealous of Peter?”

Tony raised a brow. “I never suggested what you were jealous  _ of _ .”

Harley sighed, leaning back against the counter and crossing his arms over his chest, a defence mechanism he’d learned from Tony. “You’re different now. I mean, you’re always initiating physical contact with Peter, touching his shoulder, something. It’s like you need him near you. You were never like that in Rose Hill.”  _ You were never like that with me. _

It’s not like Harley wanted that contact. Actually, he preferred his distance, but it hurt him that Tony hadn’t even tried to initiate anything more than a friendly punch after not seeing him for five years.

Tony sunk back against the doorframe. “Yeah, well, I’ve changed since then. I’ve grown, thanks to the help of one eleven-year-old twerp.”

Harley smiled, but just because he felt Tony wanted him to. It didn’t reach his eyes.

“I’m glad you found another one.”

“What?”

“Another eleven-year-old twerp. One that you’re more comfortable being yourself around.”

“I was myself with you, too, kid.”

Harley nodded once. “Oh. Thanks, that helps,” he lied, forcing a smile and moving to leave the kitchen. “I should return to the movie. Nemo won’t find himself-”

Tony shot a hand across the doorway, blocking Harley’s path. Harley glared up at him, but Tony didn’t react.

“Tell me what this is really about.”

Harley shrugged. “It’s not about anything, I swear.”

“You’re a terrible liar.”

“What, you’re a human lie detector now?”

“Yes.”

Harley sighed, gnawing on his lower lip when Tony refused to move. He didn’t shift his eyes from Harley’s, though Harley refused to meet them.

Harley looked down, embarrassed by his own thoughts, but knowing, with Tony’s stubbornness, there was no way he was leaving this kitchen until he told the truth.

“I was the little twerp in your life,” Harley mumbled. “I really liked spending time with you, and I was comfortable with you, but then we didn’t talk for a few years- and I was fine with that. Really, I was fine. But now,  _ Peter’s  _ become the little twerp, and… I don’t know where I fit in, or if I even do anymore.” He looked up at Tony, expecting to see disgust, scorn, anything.

Instead, he saw kindness. Understanding.

“I can have two little twerps, you know,” Tony said with a smile, reaching up to ruffle Harley’s hair. Harley hated it.

He wanted Tony to do it again.

Tony quieted his voice. “He’s not your replacement.” Harley began to open his mouth, but Tony cut him off. “I know that’s what you were thinking, you’re just too embarrassed to say it. You haven’t been replaced, and I don’t want you to be. There’s room for two annoying teen geniuses in my life.”

Harley chuckled quietly, looking down. “Thanks, Tony.”

“Anytime.” Tony smiled. “So you’re going to stop being so awkward now, right?”

Harley lifted his head, and Tony was elated to see that signature Keener smirk back on his face.

“Yeah.”

“Good.”

Tony put an arm around Harley’s shoulders and led him back to the living room, where Peter’s eyes hadn’t moved from the screen. Tony sat back on the couch, pulling Harley beside him. The couch was small, only meant to fit two people.

Harley couldn’t say he minded.


	4. Bullying

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For @the-dust-of-stars <3

Tony was away for the weekend on a mission with Fury that, apparently, needed the retired Iron Man’s specific expertise, and he trusted Peter to take care of Morgan until he returned Monday night.

Saturday was fun. Sunday was fine, and Monday was going great - until it came time for Peter to pick up Morgan from school.

He stood against the fence and watched the kids run out of the school, shoving each other playfully as their backpacks bounced with the absence of books. Peter chuckled as he watched them, thinking back to his own pile of science textbooks sitting on the Starks’ kitchen table at home-

“Hey-  _ stop it _ .”

Peter’s eyes shot up. Amongst the gleeful shouts of the schoolchildren, one’s angry cries rang louder.

Peter found Morgan with her back pressed against the school’s brick walls, a girl standing in front of her and shoving Morgan back when she tried to take a step forward.

Peter bit back a scowl and hurried over to them, dodging the kids that ran around him. He came into earshot just in time to hear the girl say, “You made me fail my test!”

Morgan set her shoulders and raised her chin, but Peer could see her lips quivering as he stepped closer. “You were cheating-”

“Johnny  _ wanted _ to give me the answers!” the girl interrupted, shoving Morgan’s shoulder back into the wall.

“Hey!” Peter said sharply, and the girl turned, startled. She stared up at him as Peter saw Morgan’s shoulders sag in relief. “What’s going on here?” Peter asked, fixing the girl with a cold stare.

“Who are you?” she asked, and Peter detected a small quiver in her voice. He decided to reel it back a bit.

“My name’s Peter. I’m Morgan’s big brother. And you are?”

“Lisa.”

“Hi, Lisa. What’s going on with my little sister here?”

Lisa frowned. “Nothing. We were just talking. Morgan’s my friend.”

A quick glance to Morgan’s quivering breaths disproved Lisa’s statement. Peter shook his head. “I don’t think so. I saw you pushing her.” Lisa’s eyes widened. “Who’s picking you up, Lisa?”

Lisa searched the schoolyard, pointing the finger in the direction of an older woman who definitely had Lisa’s eyes. “My mom.”

“How about we go talk to her?” Peter looked back at Morgan, taking a step closer to her and quieting his voice. “Are you okay to wait here for a minute, Mo? I’ll be right back.”

Morgan smiled slightly and nodded once. Peter brushed a strand of hair behind her ear before he turned and followed Lisa.

A few minutes and one disciplined child later, Peter returned to Morgan, the schoolyard now almost empty. Peter knelt in front of Morgan, and she looked up at him, sniffling.

“Are you okay?” Peter asked quietly. Morgan looked around. Upon seeing no one was looking in her direction, she let a tear fall.

“They were ch-cheating on the math test,” she sniffled. “I had to tell Ms. Ahmed. I studied all week and Lisa just wanted to copy off Johnny - it wasn’t fair.”

“I know, sweetheart,” Peter said sadly. “But it was a good thing that you told the teacher. Otherwise, Lisa wouldn’t be able to learn on her own, and it wouldn’t be fair to people like you.” Peter poked Morgan in the stomach and made her giggle.

Peter pushed himself to his feet and held out a hand. Morgan grabbed it, and together, they began to walk to the car. “I’m very proud of you, Morgan. And I’ll tell your dad about it when he comes home.”

Morgan smiled. “Really? Do you think he’ll be proud of me?”

Peter almost stopped short, but forced himself to keep walking. “Of course he will. Why wouldn’t he be?”

Morgan shrugged, eyes down. “He’s Iron Man. He’s really strong and super brave. He probably stands up to bullies every day.”

Peter leaned down and brushed his knuckle over Morgan’s cheek, making her smile. “And he’ll be very proud to see you following in his footsteps.”

- - -

When Tony called to tell Peter he was on his way home, Peter told him everything.

When he arrived back at home, Peter noticed a tenseness on his face that wasn’t there before he left, but Tony managed to force it away and replaced it with a smile as he saw Morgan and pulled her into his arms. After the greetings, he stepped back and held her by the shoulders, raising a brow.

“I heard you fought some bullies today.” Morgan blushed as Tony leaned forward and pressed a kiss to her temple. “I’m so proud of you, baby.”

Morgan pouted. “I’m not a baby.”

Tony laughed. “No, you’re not. You’re my super smart daughter who knows how to take care of herself.”

“So you’re not mad?”

“Why would I be mad?” Tony answered with a soft smile. “You stood up for yourself. I couldn’t be more proud.”

Morgan smiled as she gave her dad another hug.

After a moment, Tony pulled away and shifted his gaze to Peter. “Morgan, can I talk to Peter for a second?”

Morgan nodded. “I’m going to go play with Gerald.”

Tony laughed, his eyes following her as she put on her shoes and ran out the front door. The moment she was out of earshot he turned back to Peter, jaw set. “She’s being bullied?”

Peter just shrugged his shoulders. “It could’ve just been a one-time thing.”

“You said this- what, Lisa? - said they were friends. What if she’s been telling that lie this whole time, and Morgan hasn’t been speaking up?”

Peter smiled softly. “If she’s your daughter, trust me, she’ll be speaking up. We can definitely talk to her, but I think she’s fine.” He looked around Tony, through the glass door, to where she was twirling on the grass. Peter smiled as he watched her. “You've got a good kid.”

Tony turned to look at Morgan, then returned his gaze to Peter. “Correction. I've got two great kids.”


	5. Forgiveness

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For @ultravioletstark <3

Bucky had made a set of rules for himself when Ross confined all Rogues to the compound post-Siberia, the most important of which being  _ stay in your room  _ and out of Tony’s way. If Bucky was being forced to remain in the same building as Tony, he didn’t want to risk reopening any barely-healed wounds by accidentally crossing paths with the man.

It had been one week since Tony found out that Bucky had been the one to murder his parents, to destroy his childhood, and Bucky hadn’t seen the man since. He knew Rhodes had brought him safely back to the compound, which he was extremely grateful for, but he didn’t want to go see if Tony was okay. He didn’t think he’d be welcome. So, he didn’t leave his room.

Until he heard a  _ thud  _ just outside his door.

Bucky moved on instinct to open the door, to help, mind free of any repercussions when someone could be in danger - and that  _ someone  _ happened to be Peter Parker, curled up on the floor, his face sickly pale and veins unnaturally red.

Bucky knelt beside him, hands moving quickly to roll Peter onto his back. Peter tried to smile up at him, but it became more of a grimace.

“Sorry,” he mumbled. “Tryna get to my room… felt sick.”

“Yeah, you look it,” Bucky retorted, keeping his voice light even as he took note of the sweat casing Peter’s entire body and coating his shirt.

“What happened?” Bucky asked as he picked up Peter, with slight difficulty, and brought him to his own bed. He lay Peter down gently, and knew something was seriously wrong when Peter didn’t complain at being taken care of.

Bucky hurried to his bathroom and returned with a damp face cloth, pressing it to Peter’s forehead. Peter’s eyes fluttered closed at the contact, but he found the strength to gesture to the band of metal around his ankle.

The government-assigned bracelet that injected drugs into the systems of enhanced beings to reduce their abilities. Bucky had one of his own, essentially making him mortal.

Bucky’s eyes widened when he saw it. “That’s for super soldiers.”

“I know.”

“You’re not a super soldier.”

“I know.”

“Peter, it’s making you  _ sick _ -”

“They don’t care,” Peter answered meekly. Bucky dabbed the towel around Peter’s face. “I’m just another mutant. They don’t care what happens to me, as long as I c-can’t use my powers.”

Bucky scowled, wanting to comfort Peter, but knowing he was right. Mutants were thought of as less-then. Even if Bucky’s opinion mattered, and he tried to bring this issue up to the government, they wouldn’t care - but Bucky knew someone who would.

“Does Tony know?”

Peter moved as if to sit upright, but he was so weak, his shoulders barely lifted from the bed. “No, you can’t t-tell Mr. Stark, he’s busy trying to fix the accords-”

“You’re awfully sick right now, and Tony has a right to know when his kid is sick-”

“I’m not his son.”

“I didn’t say you were his son, I said you were his  _ kid _ . I’m sorry, Peter, but you know I have to tell him. He’ll be mad at me if I don’t.”  _ More than he is now _ .

Peter sighed faintly, looking like he wanted to argue, but not having the strength to. His eyes were already fluttering closed before he could respond.

Bucky sighed, folding the towel so the cooler side was now on Peter’s forehead, and he stepped out of the room, dimming the lights as he went.

He found Tony easily - in his office, as opposed to in his workshop as usual, a hand held to his forehead as he scribbled on some documents.

He didn’t notice as Bucky stopped in the doorway, so Bucky knocked twice on the doorframe.

Tony looked up, and then flinched back.

Bucky dropped his gaze immediately, inspecting the tiles on the floor. He heard Tony take a shaky breath. “What?”

Tony was staring at him from across the desk, arms crossed. For a moment, Bucky couldn’t find his words, because Tony was looking at him, terribly angry… but so, so scared. Bucky took an uncertain step back.

“I, uh….” He swallowed thickly. “I just wanted to let you know that- Peter’s sick.”

Tony stiffened. “What? What kind of- When? I-”

Bucky lifted his hands, palms out. “He’s fine. He- Do you know they gave him a bracelet?”

Tony’s brow furrowed. “A brace-” He stood from his chair in one rapid movement. “Your super soldier bracelet?”

Bucky just nodded. Tony’s eyes grew wide. “He’s enhanced, but not like a super soldier. The drugs… they’re reacting with his powers. They’re hurting him.”

Tony moved as if to step around his desk, but stopped himself. Bucky hoped it was because he changed his train of thought, and not because, if he moved, there would be nothing between them.

“I should see him,” Tony muttered. A silent plea for Bucky to move.

Bucky stepped slightly back, out of the doorframe. “He’s asleep in my room.”

Tony moved forward slowly, inching around the desk. “Why your room?”

“He practically passed out on my floor. I brought him to my bed. I just wanted to make him comfortable as quickly as possible.”

Tony’s expression softened, and he stopped moving in the centre of the room. “You helped him?”

“Yeah. I’d really hate to see him hurting.” Bucky shrugged uncomfortably and quieted his voice. “I don’t want to hurt anyone.”

Tony looked closely at Bucky, and Bucky knew he got the message.  _ I don’t want to hurt anyone. I never did. _

_ I’m sorry _ .

Tony moved forward slowly until he was just in front of Bucky. He took a shaky breath, and it looked like he was struggling to meet Bucky’s eyes, to keep his expression neutral - and then, he put a hand on Bucky’s shoulder.

“Thank you,” he said quietly, meaningfully.  _ Thank you _ , for Peter. For apologizing. But more than that…

_ I forgive you _ .


End file.
